Political-racial myths of Malaysia

Kit Siang says road forward lies in co-operation of all communities.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia can only progress towards being a successful plural society if three political-racial myths are demolished, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said on Friday.

Speaking at a meeting with Malaysian students in Istanbul, Turkey, he said the three myths were:

•  Umno is Malay and Malay is Umno
• PAS is Islam and Islam is PAS and
•  DAP is Chinese and Chinese is DAP

He said no single community or political party could rule Malaysia. Success lay through co-operation as equals and not between superior and subordinates.

The federal and state governments as well as political parties and individuals must tolerate and accept the roles and contributions of all, he said and pointed out that the Common Policy Framework of the previous opposition alliance called for national unity and justice.

He said the Umno myth was a lie as Umno was not the only political party representing Malay people, even from the first Malayan general election of 1959.

Several other myths have been born out since, that Malay rights and interests were under threat because Umno was fighting for its survival and that Malay rights and interests would suffer if Umno lost power.

He said the PAS myth about representing Islam was divisive and detrimental to fostering Malaysian consciousness by casting doubt on someone’s religious or nationalistic credentials because he was not a member of any particular party.

He said the DAP had never aspired to be a Chinese or non-Malay party and was pan-Malaysian, being the first to have branches in Sarawak and Sabah, and pointed out that the earlier myth that “MCA is Chinese and Chinese is MCA” had been rejected by the electorate and Malaysian Chinese voters.

It was propagandists of Umno and Barisan Nasional who sought to perpetuate the myth that the “DAP is Chinese and Chinese is DAP”, and termed it mischievous and baseless.